The Confrontation
}} The Order are stopped in their tracks by a mysterious stranger. Cast * The Order of the Stick ** Roy Greenhilt ◀ ▶ ** Haley Starshine ◀ ▶ ** Elan ◀ ▶ ** Belkar Bitterleaf ◀ ▶ ** Durkon Thundershield ◀ ▶ ** Vaarsuvius ◀ ▶ * Miko Miyazaki ◀ ▶ * Windstriker ◀ ▶ Transcript Miko: ORDER OF THE STICK! Miko: You have been charged with crimes for which the only possible sentence is death. Durkon: Wha tha...? Miko: Surrender yourselves or have that sentence carried out immediately. The choice is yours! Roy: Whoa, whoa, whoa, what is this all about? Elan: See? I told you, Roy! I told you something was going to happen! Roy: Shut up, Elan. Roy: And you, buddy, we're not surrendering without a little— Miko: As you wish. Miko throws a bag in Vaarsuvius and Haley's direction. The bag hits Vaarsuvius and covers V with goo; Haley Evades. Vaarsuvius: Mmmph! Haley: Ooo, tanglefoot bag! Those are a pain in the ass. Vaarsuvius: Disintegrate! The spells fails, "fizzle!" Elan runs away, blowing his kazoo, "Bzzz bzz bzzzz bzzzz!" Vaarsuvius: Between the storm and this accursed adhesive, I can barely concentrate enough to remember my words of power! Haley: Don't worry, a little Rapid Shot action should take him down a notch! Haley fires three arrows, "fft! fft! fft!", but they fly all over the place in the storm. Miko is attacking Roy. Roy: Who are you? What do you want? What "crimes" are you talking about? Miko: Silence. If at all possible, try to meet your fate with some dignity. Belkar: Well, as usual, it falls to Yours Truly to save the day by serving someone a heapin' helping of Mama Bitterleaf's secret family recipe for their own steaming entrails on a platter. Miko: Windstriker, NOW! Belkar: "Windstriker"? What the hell is a-AAAHH! The stranger's horse knocks Belkar's daggers from his hands and stands on him. Belkar: Get off me, you stupid horse! Belkar: Goddamn size modifiers to grapple checks!! Roy: Durkon, don't just stand there! There's a storm, use Thor's Lightning. Roy: Do something! Anything! Durkon: ... Durkon: I surrender. Roy: That is NOT what I meant!! Miko: Your dwarf is wise to accept the inevitable. Miko: My turn. Miko slashes repeatedly at Roy with her swords, "slash! slash! slash! slash! slash!" Roy: GAHHH! Vaarsuvius: Ah, I believe I have ascertained a solution. An incantation of lesser complexity should be more easily remembered. Vaarsuvius: Fireball! Haley: Wait, V, Roy is— Vaarsuvius casts a Fireball, "wooosh!", but it hits Roy with Miko Evading the effects by leaping out the way of its explosion. Vaarsuvius: That was not as effective as I would have hoped. Elan: Aw man, he jumps like you, Haley! Haley: Not even a singe... Haley fires arrows again, "fft! fft! fft!", but again they scatter randomly in the wind. Haley: Darn it! Haley: Elan... give me your rapier. Elan: What?? Haley: I can't shoot for crap in this rain and wind. You can't use it with your injured hand anyway. Elan: Haley, you don't DO melee combat. There's a reason you don't carry a sword! Roy is trying to fight Miko, but is heavily injured. Haley (off-panel): Elan, Belkar's grappled, V is slimed, you're injured, and Durkon seems to have defected or something. If I don't get in there, Roy is a goner. Elan: OK...OK, here. But just remember, I like you in one big Haley-shaped piece, so try to come back that way. Haley: I'll do my best. Haley: Wish me luck! Haley kisses Elan on the cheek, "smooch!" Elan: Luck. Belkar: Get off! Damn it, what the hell is the point of Wild Empathy if I can't get a horse off my friggin' chest??? Miko continues a whirlwind of attacks at Roy with her swords, "slash! slash! slash!" Durkon: Lad, just surrender! Yer only makin' things worse fer us! Roy: With all due respect, old friend, shove it. Vaarsuvius: This needs to be ended quickly and decisively. Vaarsuvius: Hold Person! The spell doesn't seem to affect Miko. Miko: The grace of my gods protect me from your corrupt magic, elf! Haley (off-panel): Oh yeah? How are they at keeping you from becoming a shish kabob?? Haley sneaks up behind Miko. Haley: SNEAK ATTACK! Miko: AHHHH! Roy: Good job, Haley. And thanks for the flank, it makes this much easier! Roy hits Miko in the head with his club, "WHUMP!" Miko: Unngh! Roy: You want some more? Because some more can easily be arranged! Miko's hood from her faces, revealing the stranger to be a dark haired woman. Roy: Wow... Miko: Honorless dogs! I will see you lawfully executed despite your shameful tactics! Miko: Stunning Kick! Miko slashes at Roy with one sword whilst kicking Haley in the face. Elan: HALEY! Vaarsuvius: Suggestion! The spells goes "fizzle!". Vaarsuvius: DAMNATION! Elan: Haley, speak to me! Haley looks dazed. Haley: I'm Henry the 8th, I am, Henry the 8th, I am, I am... Durkon: Elan, ye have to stop Roy! This be all wrong! Wit me low Charisma modifier, I cannae get him to listen to reason! Haley: Ooooo! Look! A tiny fuzzy man! Roy: Actually, Durkon, I think I'm beginning to figure that— Miko attacks Roy, "slash-slash!", making him drop his club. Roy: OOF! Miko: Die, evildoer! Elan: Wait, did she just call Roy an "evildoer"? Durkon: Tha's what I've been tryin' to say! Roy: Hey, babe, listen, clearly we got off on the wrong foot, but I think if we all calm down and— Miko: Still your tongue! The lies of the wicked cannot be believed! Miko raises her sword above her head, a blue glow surrounding it. Miko: In the name of the just Lord Shojo, master of the Sapphire Guard, I execute you for crimes against existence! Durkon: No! Stop! Miko: SMITE EVIL! Miko slashes down at Roy with her sword. D&D Context * A number of Paladin class features can be seen in this strip. ** Paladins get celestial mounts. Miko's is Windstriker. ** Paladins gain Divine Grace which gives a bonus to all saving throws equal to a characters Charisma modifier. Miko made her saving throw against Vaarsuvius' spell. ** Smite Evil is an ability which provides extra chance to hit and extra damage against an evil-aligned character. * Miko's Monk class features can be seen in the strip as well. ** The Stunning Fist feat allows you to stun an opponent if they fail a Fortitude save with an unarmed attack. Monks gain the feat as a bonus on level 1. ** Monks, like Rogues, gain the Evasion class ability, allowing them to completely dodge spells. * A tanglefoot bag covers a character in goo which becomes hard quickly. To escape, a character must make a Strength check, which Vaarsuvius likely is not good at. The goo gives a number of negative effects, including making spellcasting more difficult. * Small characters, like Belkar, receive a penalty to Grapple checks and are therefore more easy to pin for larger characters. * Rangers gain a class feature called Wild Empathy that allows them to calm animals. * A rogue's sneak attack ability also works if the target is flanked. In this case Haley and Roy are flanking Miko because she has enemies on both sides of her. * The Charisma stat affects a characters ability to change other people's minds; Durkon's low modifier makes this unlikely. * [http://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#rapidShot Rapid Shot] is a Feat that allows an extra ranged shot, however all attacks in that turn take a penalty to accuracy. * [http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/fireball.htm Fireball] is a 3rd-level Wizard spell that explodes and deals damage in a radius. * [http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/disintegrate.htm Disintegrate] is a 6th-level Wizard spell that does large amounts of damage and causes the body of the target to disintegrate if killed. * [http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/holdPerson.htm Hold Person] is a 3rd-level Wizard spell that paralyzes a target that fails a Will save. * [http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/suggestion.htm Suggestion] is a 3rd-level Wizard spell that hypnotizes the target. Trivia * At 4 pages and 42 panels in length, this is the longest comic created so far. * This is the first comic in which Lord Shojo is named. * This is the first comic where Windstriker's name is mentioned. * Elan's prediction that no one would get smooched because of the dramatic rain in the previous comic turned out to be false as Haley gives him a good luck kiss. * In the 8th panel of the 4th page, Haley is singing I'm Henery the Eighth, I am a 1910 song by Fred Murray and R. P. Weston. Herman's Hermits cover of the song in 1965 became the fastest selling single in history to that point. External Links * 200}} View the comic * link|859278}} View the discussion thread Category:Uses Tanglefoot bag Category:Uses Disintegrate Category:Uses Rapid Shot Category:Uses Fireball Category:Uses Hold Person Category:Uses Sneak Attack Category:Uses Stunning Kick Category:Uses Suggestion Category:Uses Smite Evil Category:Uses Bardic Music Category:Uses Evasion Category:Order Arrested by Miko